The Vines told it must pay $10,000 penalty

Published: Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 8:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 8:10 p.m.

An Ocala mental health facility has entered into a settlement agreement with the Agency for Health Care Administration in which it must pay the agency $10,000 for what’s described as administrative sanctions, according to state documents.

The agreement, signed by an AHCA official on May 8, states that The Vines has 30 days to appeal the decision, and if payment has not been made, then it’s due within 30 days of the final order.

The eight-page settlement document has several stipulations that were agreed upon by both parties. One states that AHCA agrees it will not impose any further penalty against the facility as a result of the deficiencies cited in the survey. A second stipulation said the agreement doesn’t prevent AHCA from imposing a penalty against The Vines for any deficiency/violations of statue or rule identified in a future survey.

Thirdly, the agreement does not forbid any other federal, state or local agency from pursuing their own investigation “even if based on or arising from, in whole or in part, the facts raised in the survey.”

While the agreement does not specifically list the reason for the sanctions, the document gives a hint as to why the penalty was implemented. One page 3, the agreement refers to AHCA completing a survey of The Vines on or about Feb. 20, during which a deficient practice was cited, and from that, an administrative sanction of $10,000 was leveled.

According to AHCA records, there were two deficiencies cited on Feb. 20 against The Vines. The reports — totaling 85 pages — said a juvenile’s arm was broken by an employee on the night of Feb. 15. Instead of treating his injury or taking the juvenile to the hospital, he was given Tylenol, the report states. It wasn’t until the next morning — 11½ hours later — that the minor was transported to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had a spiral fracture of his upper left arm, the report says.

The Ocala Police Department was notified of the juvenile’s fractured arm and an officer arrested Lennox Seepersad for aggravated child abuse.

Court records show Seepersad, 54, is being represented by the Public Defender’s Office and has a pretrial conference set for July 31.

Scott Price, associate administrator/director of business development for The Vines, issued a statement Saturday that read: “As a result of a recent survey, the Florida ACHA has determined that The Vines Hospital is in full compliance with state regulations and has resolved all of AHCA’s concerns. The entire staff at The Vines Hospital worked diligently to correct the issues while maintaining the hospital fully operational with no disruption of services.

“The Vines Hospital is fully licensed by the agency and remains dedicated and committed to providing the highest quality of care to individuals with special and sometimes complex mental health needs,” the statement continued.

Price could not say whether or not Seepersad is still employed at The Vines.

Aside from the $10,000 fine, AHCA records also reveal that a moratorium for not accepting new patients was imposed on The Vines from Feb. 22 to March 14 stemming from the arm fracture incident.

The state agency criticized the facility, saying patients’ allegations of abuse and neglect “have fallen into disrepair,” calling their inaction an immediate threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public and the children residing in the facility.

The Vines, located at 3130 SW 27th Ave., a for-profit 50-bed facility whose license expires Feb. 28, 2014, has seen its share of troubles.

Christopher J. Love was arrested Nov. 30, 2012 by an OPD detective and charged with second-degree murder and sexual battery in the death of 75-year-old Ramon Sanchez, a resident at The Vines.

Love and Sanchez were roommates at the facility, and staffers told police when they checked the room, they found Love on top of a mattress on the floor. Sanchez was underneath the mattress, face down on the floor. Love told police he had had sex with the victim and then hurt him.

Sanchez was admitted to The Vines on Nov. 10 because he had shown signs of bipolar symptoms and dementia.

Love, who had a history of mental illness, was admitted to the facility two days before the incident occurred.

Court records show Love, 64, who has been Baker-acted by law enforcement officials at least twice within the last few years, had a competency hearing on Dec. 19, 2012 and the court found him incompetent to stand trial. The same ruling committed him to the Department of Children and Family Services.

Another hearing is slated for June. The sexual battery charge has been dropped, records indicate.

Inspection reports from the AHCA indicate that since January 2008, there have been 10 inspection-type complaints against The Vines. Of those, four resulted in no deficiencies cited, three had deficiencies cited and the rest had deficiencies corrected.

<p>An Ocala mental health facility has entered into a settlement agreement with the Agency for Health Care Administration in which it must pay the agency $10,000 for what's described as administrative sanctions, according to state documents.</p><p>The agreement, signed by an AHCA official on May 8, states that The Vines has 30 days to appeal the decision, and if payment has not been made, then it's due within 30 days of the final order.</p><p>The eight-page settlement document has several stipulations that were agreed upon by both parties. One states that AHCA agrees it will not impose any further penalty against the facility as a result of the deficiencies cited in the survey. A second stipulation said the agreement doesn't prevent AHCA from imposing a penalty against The Vines for any deficiency/violations of statue or rule identified in a future survey.</p><p>Thirdly, the agreement does not forbid any other federal, state or local agency from pursuing their own investigation “even if based on or arising from, in whole or in part, the facts raised in the survey.”</p><p>While the agreement does not specifically list the reason for the sanctions, the document gives a hint as to why the penalty was implemented. One page 3, the agreement refers to AHCA completing a survey of The Vines on or about Feb. 20, during which a deficient practice was cited, and from that, an administrative sanction of $10,000 was leveled.</p><p>According to AHCA records, there were two deficiencies cited on Feb. 20 against The Vines. The reports — totaling 85 pages — said a juvenile's arm was broken by an employee on the night of Feb. 15. Instead of treating his injury or taking the juvenile to the hospital, he was given Tylenol, the report states. It wasn't until the next morning — 11½ hours later — that the minor was transported to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had a spiral fracture of his upper left arm, the report says.</p><p>The Ocala Police Department was notified of the juvenile's fractured arm and an officer arrested Lennox Seepersad for aggravated child abuse.</p><p>Court records show Seepersad, 54, is being represented by the Public Defender's Office and has a pretrial conference set for July 31.</p><p>Scott Price, associate administrator/director of business development for The Vines, issued a statement Saturday that read: “As a result of a recent survey, the Florida ACHA has determined that The Vines Hospital is in full compliance with state regulations and has resolved all of AHCA's concerns. The entire staff at The Vines Hospital worked diligently to correct the issues while maintaining the hospital fully operational with no disruption of services.</p><p>“The Vines Hospital is fully licensed by the agency and remains dedicated and committed to providing the highest quality of care to individuals with special and sometimes complex mental health needs,” the statement continued.</p><p>Price could not say whether or not Seepersad is still employed at The Vines.</p><p>Aside from the $10,000 fine, AHCA records also reveal that a moratorium for not accepting new patients was imposed on The Vines from Feb. 22 to March 14 stemming from the arm fracture incident.</p><p>The state agency criticized the facility, saying patients' allegations of abuse and neglect “have fallen into disrepair,” calling their inaction an immediate threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public and the children residing in the facility.</p><p>The Vines, located at 3130 SW 27th Ave., a for-profit 50-bed facility whose license expires Feb. 28, 2014, has seen its share of troubles.</p><p>Christopher J. Love was arrested Nov. 30, 2012 by an OPD detective and charged with second-degree murder and sexual battery in the death of 75-year-old Ramon Sanchez, a resident at The Vines.</p><p>Love and Sanchez were roommates at the facility, and staffers told police when they checked the room, they found Love on top of a mattress on the floor. Sanchez was underneath the mattress, face down on the floor. Love told police he had had sex with the victim and then hurt him.</p><p>Sanchez was admitted to The Vines on Nov. 10 because he had shown signs of bipolar symptoms and dementia.</p><p>Love, who had a history of mental illness, was admitted to the facility two days before the incident occurred.</p><p>Court records show Love, 64, who has been Baker-acted by law enforcement officials at least twice within the last few years, had a competency hearing on Dec. 19, 2012 and the court found him incompetent to stand trial. The same ruling committed him to the Department of Children and Family Services.</p><p>Another hearing is slated for June. The sexual battery charge has been dropped, records indicate.</p><p>Inspection reports from the AHCA indicate that since January 2008, there have been 10 inspection-type complaints against The Vines. Of those, four resulted in no deficiencies cited, three had deficiencies cited and the rest had deficiencies corrected.</p>